Last week, I identified some of the problems with the recent broadband study released by Oxford University’s Saïd School of Business.
My colleague, Suzanne Blackwell at Giganomics identified some other problems. Most fundamentally, the study did not account for end user self selection of service delivery speeds. For example, although the service provider infrastructure may support 50Mbps download service, the user may have only subscribed to a 5Mbps service which would set a limit on the measured speeds.
A spokesperson for Cisco, the project funder, was quoted saying:
It can be a bit misleading to look at the rankings. The important thing is whether the broadband quality of a country is good enough for today’s needs and the UK falls well within this category.
We forecast the UK will improve because of things such as cable networks being upgraded and the Digital Britain report focusing on next generation access.
The same holds true for Canada.
The study contains an important message. In creating an index, the Broadband Quality Score (BQS), a report in eWeek Europe says the study examines the need to balance between penetration and the nature of the connectivity.
In that article, Cisco’s internet business solutions strategy director Fernando Gil de Bernabé said:
Penetration and quality have a different impact on socio-economic factors. Policy-makers need to make a decision based on that – and may have to choose between penetration or quality.
The errors in the data used in the Oxford report (which should have been obvious to some of the more outspoken Canadian industry critics) make the rankings more than “a bit misleading.”
But, the message about balancing interests is an important one – it is the headline that should have been picked up.
There is a need for a more informed discussion to help lead broadband policy development. Read our report [pdf, 944KB], or at a minimum, read our press release.
In my post yesterday, I included a quote from Barack Obama that merits further attention.
Obama is arguably the most net-savvy world leader, having leveraged new media tools to energize voters and donors in the last election. But, even he has expressed concerns about the impact of new media on the quality of information being delivered and discussed by the public.
I am concerned that if the direction of the news is all blogosphere, all opinions, with no serious fact-checking, no serious attempts to put stories in context, that what you will end up getting is people shouting at each other across the void but not a lot of mutual understanding.
This remark seems to tie into a posting I wrote last May, when I referred to Twitter as Coffee Crisp. That posting in turn provided a link to Nick Carr’s piece in Atlantic Monthly called “Is Google Making Us Stupid“.
For a generation raised on-line, how does in-depth analysis and solid information get funded? How can “serious” writing, news, stories hope to be heard above the noise?
For months now, I have been writing about the disturbing lack of context in respect of some reports examining the state of Canada’s telecommunications industry, especially those that have cited various OECD studies released over the past few months.
As I wrote in June, it has become increasingly clear that the OECD’s analysis is flawed.
The failure by so many to analyse the data appears to confirm what President Barack Obama said recently in a newspaper interview:
I am concerned that if the direction of the news is all blogosphere, all opinions, with no serious fact-checking, no serious attempts to put stories in context, that what you will end up getting is people shouting at each other across the void but not a lot of mutual understanding.
Countless statistics and rankings have been developed regarding the state of broadband networks in countries around the world. Yet, the sum total of all this work may have clouded the issues and caused confusion among policymakers and other stakeholders.
Canada is no exception. While some paint a picture of crisis, others argue that Canada has enviable broadband infrastructure and is well-positioned for the future, despite facing unique geographic challenges.
One matter that is uncontested is that the stakes are high. Countries around the world see information and communication technologies (ICTs) like broadband as key to their economic futures. In Canada, as in other countries, these issues are important to the economic present as well. Canadian telcos, cablecos and wireless providers invest between $8B and $10B each year in advanced communications infrastructure. These investments support $54B in revenues and provide jobs to more than 140 thousand Canadians.
ICT policy sets an enabling foundation for Canada’s participation in a global knowledge-based economy.
A group representing Canada’s largest internet service providers commissioned my firm to study the issue. Today, we are releasing our report [pdf, 944KB] that seeks to clarify the facts, dispel myths and provide the analysis needed to constructively move the issues forward and facilitate a more informed debate.
The report concludes that Canadians benefit from a robust, diversified broadband infrastructure. All Canadians who want to subscribe and pay for broadband can obtain service. We have 100% availability when you consider all the technology choices available. The vast majority of Canadians benefit from a world-leading level of choice in access to broadband technologies, using twisted pair, coaxial cable, wireless (fixed and mobile) and satellite.
Moreover, Canadians have access to some of the most affordable services, while also benefiting from some of the world’s fastest connection speeds for both wireline and wireless broadband services.
In terms of adoption, Canada continues to lead all G-8 countries in adoption of internet services, and ranks in the top ten for most international comparisons on broadband penetration and speeds, contradicting last week’s student project from the Said School of Business at Oxford.
With almost 70% of Canadian households already subscribing, there remains a significant opportunity to expand broadband adoption even further.
The report recommends:
As we go through the process of developing a national ICT strategy, recognize the true state of Canada’s ICT infrastructure
Continue policies focused on fostering facilities-based competition
Build on the past success of private sector investment by removing current policy and regulatory uncertainty regarding investments in next-generation networks
Shift more attention to adoption issues (including adoption of next-generation services) and encourage socio-economic research focused on better understanding the obstacles to, and inhibitors of, broadband adoption
Consider programmes to improve digital literacy and the use of incentives (tax-based or otherwise) to target and overcome any barriers to broadband adoption
You may download the complete report here [pdf, 944KB]. It provides the context to enable a better understanding and discussion of the issues for expanding broadband in Canada.
A little more than 20 years ago, I joined Bell Labs and my boss was showing me around the office as he commented on his management philosophy.
He paused on the tour while we were overlooking the reflecting ponds and he seemed to be caught in a bit of a day dream. When he snapped back to the present, he said that sometimes he gets his best inspiration looking at the natural landscape.
He told me that what made Bell Labs such a great place to work was that if you did your best thinking staring out the window, then we would get paid to gaze at geese.
He went on to say that in jobs like ours, it was tough for a manager to say “today, we’re going to invent the gonculator.” So, he told me that if I was able to score matinee tickets for a Broadway show, that I should go ahead – he wasn’t watching the clock. In any case, most of us were equipped with home computers connected to the office – pretty advanced networking for the mid-80’s.
There was a lot of inventing going on; the blurring between work time and private time was an issue we learned to deal with. The tether to the office enabled more time with family, just as much as it enabled more accessibility to the office.
It is much more commonplace today for people to mix pleasure during work hours and to deal with business email and other work from home. I find that universal connectivity enables me to get away from my desk more frequently, without a concern that my clients can’t find me. But that is the nature of my work.
How do you divide your time? Does the virtual umbilical enable you to enjoy more or less personal time?
Ontario has announced that its ban on the use of handheld devices while driving is going into effect in October. A three-month grace period will be in place before tickets of $500 start getting issued in February 2010.
The new law makes it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices.
The province’s press release points to a page with “key research” supporting the restrictions. While I support the legislation, I have written before about the questionable conclusions drawn from the research being cited to support these restrictions.
A 12-year old study from Sunnybrook is cited as the number two source by the province.
